The present invention relates generally to a system and method for communicating between a server application and multiple client nodes and more specifically to a system and method for transmitting the same data to more than one client node substantially simultaneously.
Shadowing (transmitting data destined for one client node substantially simultaneously to a second client node) and broadcasting (transmitting the same data substantially simultaneously to more than one client node) typically has been performed using a specialized transmitting application on a server node and specialized receiver applications on each of the client nodes. Shadowing is useful in monitoring data traffic and for creating a redundant copy of information being transmitted for data integrity and system security purposes. Broadcasting is useful in providing the same information to many users, when such information is xe2x80x9creal-timexe2x80x9d or when the information does not have a per se beginning or ending. For example, a stock price quotation program simply transmits the current prices of various stocks on a given exchange and the list repeats with the latest prices once the list of stocks is exhausted. Thus it is irrelevant to a user that he or she does not specify to the quotation program where to begin the list
Such programs typically are written with a broadcast program in mind and require specialized receiver programs to receive the data transmitted. If an application has not been written as a broadcast program, the data transmitted by such an application can not typically be broadcast to multiple client nodes.
The present invention attempts to overcome this problem by permitting programs not written for broadcast functionality to be used to broadcast data over a network.
The invention relates to a system and method for transmitting the same data to more than one client node substantially simultaneously. In one embodiment the invention relates to a method for transmitting the same data substantially simultaneously from an application executing on a server node to at least two client nodes executing a generalized receiver program. The method includes the steps of establishing a connection between a first client node and a first client protocol stack on the server node; establishing a connection between the application executing on the server node and the first client protocol stack; associating a first minimal communications protocol stack with the first client protocol stack; establishing a connection between the application executing on the server node and the first minimal communications protocol stack; establishing a connection between a second client node and a second client protocol stack on the server node; associating a second minimal communications protocol stack with the second client protocol stack; providing a connection between the first minimal protocol stack and the second minimal protocol stack; providing a connection between the second minimal protocol stack and said the second client protocol stack; and transmitting data from the application program to the first client protocol stack and the first minimal protocol stack, substantially simultaneously.
The invention also relates to a communication system including a server and two or more client nodes. In one embodiment the server node comprises an application program; a first client protocol stack in electrical communication with the application program; a first minimal protocol stack in electrical communication with the application program; a second minimal protocol stack in electrical communication with the first minimal protocol stack; and a second client protocol stack in electrical communication with the second minimal protocol stack. In addition the system includes a first client node in electrical communication with the first client protocol stack and a second client node in electrical communication with the second client protocol stack. Data from the application program is transmitted to the client protocol stack and the first minimal protocol stack substantially simultaneously.